


oh my word

by solarsidong



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Author Does Not Know Anything About Said AU, Competitive Doyoung at his finest, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, JohnDo actually being super compatible but Doyoung refusing to acknowledge that, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26814145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarsidong/pseuds/solarsidong
Summary: this is my attempt at getting rid of writing rustiness, let me know what you think!
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. monotony disrupted

He didn’t think he’d be trending on the internet for two weeks straight at the age of 25.

‘Your face helps too, you know,’ Kun, his long-time friend and pseudo-editor, had said after dumping a pile of newspaper printouts on the too-small desk in the too-small office. ‘The girls are eating it up.’

Johnny hadn’t taken offence to that. ‘How do you know it isn’t my body?’ he asked, curiously skimming the headlines as best as he could from his seat on the couch.

Kun stared.

Johnny grinned.

‘What?! My Instagram isn’t hard to find, and I’m not exactly shy of posting thirst traps. You’ve literally called me out on it before.’

‘While I’m glad that you’re self-aware, I need you to be self-aware about the kind of strategy we’re going to have to use going forward, John,’ Kun said, passing him a coffee. ‘We obviously have to capitalise on this momentum, but frankly I’m not experienced or ready enough for it. I just have my economics degree and connections in publishing, but you know I’m way in over my head.’

Johnny took a sip of his latte, nodding. It was true that the capacity both men had was nowhere near the kind required to make this moment a career changing one.

The short collection of poems had been written as an outlet for Johnny. After five years of an unsatisfying career in management consulting, the humdrum repetitiveness and corporate culture had left his creative side feeling downtrodden and neglected. He’d taken to writing during weekends and, increasingly, weeknights on the train ride back from work, penning down thoughts that he’d abandoned when he’d landed an internship role right out of university.

The pen and paper had become a refuge for Johnny, the catharsis of expressing himself through flowing ink becoming a welcome therapy. When Kun had initially noticed Johnny writing, he hadn’t pried, but had been curious. Johnny had reluctantly revealed some of his poems during a tipsy night at their local hole-in-the-wall, smiling shyly under yellow lights with a glow that Kun had never seen on his friend. 

It was then that Kun had decided that publishing could well be an opportunity for Johnny. Since then, the few copies they had managed to get published had sold like hotcakes, Johnny’s words resonating with an oddly wide group of readers. A few Instagram influencers had hopped on the trend, and within weeks, Johnny had become a sensation. Now that writing held serious potential as an income stream for Johnny, he knew he had to use the opportunity, and take it quickly.

‘Thanks for the honesty, Kun. I appreciate it. What do you think is the best move going forward?’

Kun pulled out his wallet, rifling through it, eventually finding a cream coloured business card with Valentine Publishing embossed on the front.

‘These guys, they’re good. They worked with that Thai popstar who wrote an autobiography of his experiences in Korea a few months ago. Their in-house team is very efficient and driven, plus they actually care about the author’s input on the PR campaigns,’ Kun said.

Johnny nodded, flipping the card over to reveal a number. ‘I’m guessing they’re pricey too?’

Kun chuckled. ‘Well, they’re not cheap. But the co-owner is an acquaintance of mine – Jung Jaehyun – and I know he’ll be up to negotiate considering your position. It’s rare for a writing newbie to be selling like this Johnny, he can recognise talent where he sees it. I think we’ll be able to work out something that works for all three parties.’

Johnny raised his eyebrows. ‘All three? Who’s the third party? Not you, by any chance?’ Kun shook his head. ‘Nope. Valentine has a hybrid-model where a new author is guided by an experienced author. It supposedly provides mentorship and helps authors build communities so that writing isn’t as lonely a process. Valentine gets to keep the authors who aren’t selling well at the moment busy with work so that they don’t lose valuable talent. Sometimes the authors co-write a work, which I think is what their ideal outcome is.’

‘Sounds interesting,’ Johnny cocked his head. ‘Any idea who I might be getting hooked up with?’

Smiling, Kun pulled out his phone and tapped quickly on the keyboard. He turned the phone towards Johnny, who leaned in and squinted. He was greeted by the face of a man who couldn’t be any older than him. High cheekbones, hooded eyes and dark hair gelled up to reveal his forehead.

‘Didn’t you say experienced?’ Johnny asked, reading the name printed below the image.

‘Jaehyun said that Kim Doyoung is experienced despite his young age,’ Kun said. ‘Apparently he’s been writing for Valentine in an on-and-off capacity since he was 20 but hasn’t had much luck after his initial novels.’

Johnny shrugged. ‘Seems cool enough. I’m sure we’ll get along well.’

Kun nodded and slipped his phone back into his pocket. ‘I’m sure you will’.

* * *

‘Are you fucking joking, Jaehyun?’

Jaehyun stared at Doyoung, unflinching at the language his friend had chosen to employ.

‘No, I’m serious, Doyoung. It’s about time we tried something different, don’t you think?’

Doyoung gripped his phone tightly, jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to breathe through the anger.

‘You want me to work with the Chicago equivalent of Rupi Kaur, someone who’s sucked on corporate dick since college and is probably rolling in consulting money, and make his next poetry collection our best-seller of 2020? Do you realise how absurd that sounds?’ Doyoung whispered angrily.

Jaehyun sighed. ‘Look. We’ve been trying everything for you Doyoung, but nothing has really gone exceptionally well since Without You. I think someone like this will be good for you. We can change up the pace, and both of you will be able to bounce different ideas off each other.’

Doyoung had slowly leaned back in his seat since his outburst, the mention of his debut novel bringing complicated emotions to the surface.

‘I’m sorry Jaehyun, I know this isn’t what you expected from me either. It’s just. Frustrating, you know?’ Doyoung looked at his friend imploringly. ‘I gave so much of my life to writing, and this guy just comes out of nowhere, asking to work with us with no experience, or no apparent regard for the art of writing. It’s just hard to accept that this is the reality, that chance plays a bigger role in success than disciplined effort.’

Jaehyun let out a half laugh. ‘Trust me, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t know how hard it was going to be for you. Plus, I don’t think he has a total disregard for the process of writing. He’s just lucky and trying his best to make that luck something reliable. You weren’t so different four years ago, you’re just a lot more serious now than you were back then.’

Doyoung scoffed, rolling his eyes at the thought that he was in any way similar to this Johnny character. He was nowhere near as much of a sell-out. He’d done the whole starving artist bit and struggled with his family and living situation to even make it to the door of Valentine Publishing. Then, he had taken a couple more years to make friendships with the people at the company and establish some semblance of employment. Now it all felt like it was being threatened at the mere mention of another young author’s name.

‘Look, I’ll send you his profile and socials, you can look him up and find out what you’re dealing with. We’ll set up a meeting for next week if you’re okay with it, and even then there’s no contract drawn up yet, so no one is expecting signatures,’ Jaehyun said, getting up from his chair and pushing it back in place.

‘I want you to consider this seriously, Doyoung,’ he said as he reached for the door handle, ‘It could be a defining move for the both of you.’

Doyoung highly doubted it.


	2. precipice

Doyoung regretted everything from the day he was born.

If he hadn’t been born, he wouldn’t have had a couple of glasses of wine before bed, he wouldn’t have known about Johnny Suh, and he wouldn’t have looked him up on the internet to find out who this guy really was.

After getting the email from Jaehyun with links to Johnny’s accounts, Doyoung had hesitated to click. Mostly because seeing someone’s face made them a little harder to hate, and Doyoung’s last few days had been fuelled by an undercurrent of disliking Johnny’s existence. He’d even blabbed about it to the barista that made his morning coffee. It was easy, he knew, to conjure up a caricature of someone and hate what they stood for. But Doyoung had always been a little sentimental and a little too empathetic for his own good. He couldn’t hate someone once he knew them as more than few pre-conceived ideas. Getting to know Jonny a little was necessary to being rational about the process and being informed on his potential mentee would help formulate the right kinds of questions for the first meeting.

That’s what he thought he was going to do. Look at a nice LinkedIn profile with some biodata on Johnny’s past experiences, his interests, maybe something a bit softer on his Instagram that would reveal some inner thoughts and authorial tendencies.

Instead, he was greeted by endless gym mirror selfies that were apparently the “real” Johnny Suh. Really, endless. Most of them prominently featuring a set of abs that Doyoung didn’t want to acknowledge made him a little bit weak at the knees. There was one particular set of photos in soft afternoon sunshine in a bedroom, Johnny’s hair all mussed up and eyes closed as he lounged against the bedframe, that was driving him a little batshit. And honestly, it would’ve been fine if it was the shirtless ones. Those could be processed with sufficient time.

But with the wine coursing through his bloodstream and making him feel fuzzy and relaxed, it was the photos of Johnny in oversized shirts and hoodies, smiling and looking like a gigantic teddy bear, that were hard to deal with. The ones of him running along a beach, leaving footprints in the wet sand, and standing with his white shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal his tanned forearms, that were impossible to even think about.

‘Fuck,’ Doyoung whispered to himself, mouth turning down at the corners as a terrible realisation sunk in. He was attracted to this man after five minutes of online gawking. Extremely attracted. Instant swipe right attracted. The unfairness of it all was infuriating. It was hard enough being one of the few gay Asian authors in the business as was. Now he was being attacked by a prime physical specimen – one that was apparently in touch with his emotions enough to write poetry that Doyoung hadn’t instantly disliked either.

He locked his phone screen and turned to look to his bedstand, where a copy of Johnny’s Sunflower Musings sat, filled with colour coded tabs that Doyoung had marked for later, deeper perusal. The 20 odd poem long collection had taken Doyoung a surprisingly short amount of time to get through, the easy gentle style of Johnny’s penmanship taking him by surprise. He could see the appeal that had made him so popular overnight, and as much as he didn’t like admitting it, he could see why Jaehyun was hoping to push Johnny’s career further with Valentine as a launchpad.

Doyoung drained his glass before setting it on the bedstand next to the collection. He unlocked his phone, taking one last look at Johnny’s profile before clicking out of the application and messaging Jaehyun.

_Doie: I think I don’t hate him now_

His phone pinged in response almost immediately – Jaehyun must be working still, Doyoung thought.

_Jaehyunnie: I knew you’d come around~ Proud of you :)_

Doyoung snorted. Jaehyun was younger by a good year, and it felt weird to think that Jaehyun had some semblance of paternal pride for him.

_Doie: Yeah well. His profile was helpful – doesn’t seem like too bad of a guy_

_Jaehyunnie: Doyoung you sly devil! You got sucked in by the thirst traps didn’t you. i should’ve seen this coming._

Doyoung scrambled to sit up straight in his bed. There was no way Jaehyun could know about his attraction (minimal, newly fledged, barely-there attraction, he tried to tell himself).

_Doie: Untrue. I read his book and his instagram was just a small bonus_

_Jaehyunnie: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) sure buddy. sure._

He could practically see the wiggly eyebrow raise that Jaehyun was bound to be doing at his house downtown.

_Doie: I won’t even bother trying to stop you on this one, you’re uncontrollable._

_Jaehyunnie: or you just want me to help make it happen. brb, im texting Kun to find out if he’s single~_

_Doie: NO! DON’T. my god you’re so embarrassing just let it be._

J _aehyunnie: …. fine. but if the op_ _portunity arises to discretely identify his relationship status, im not passing it up._

_Doie: whatever makes you happy_

_Jaehyunnie: your happiness makes me happy, doie. and you in the arms of big muscly Johnny will surely increase your happiness :) goodnight!_

_Doie: night =_=_

Doyoung sighed. This first meeting was looking to be more and more complicated now.

* * *

Valentine Publishing, though romantically named, didn’t look too different to every other brick building on the streets of the northern suburbs. Johnny pulled out his phone to double check that his maps application had led him to the right spot and noted that he was also ten minutes early. Enough time to grab a coffee to fuel him. He traced his steps back a couple of buildings to enter the café he’d spotted on his way up.

The café was bustling with people, business types with suits and the occasional group of friends brunching on the Friday morning. The delicious smell of baked goods and coffee grounds wafted through the air.

‘Welcome, how can I help you?’ a bright-eyed barista greeted him, hands moving busily as he worked the coffeemaker.

‘Can I grab a double-shot cap?’ Johnny asked.

‘Of course,’ the barista smiled, moving to the till. ‘First time I’m seeing you in here, newcomer to the area?’

Johnny nodded, taking out his wallet. ‘I am indeed. I’m here to work out a deal with a publishing company down the road, if all goes well, I’ll likely be a good customer for you in the months ahead!’

The barista, his name tag read “Mark”, raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you by any chance Johnny Suh?’

Johnny was surprised, it was rare for someone to know him by name and face despite the recent success. ‘Yeah, I am, but how’d you know my name?’

Mark bit back a smile. ‘I’ve heard it quite a bit in the past week or so, that’s all I can give away I’m afraid’. He quickly typed an order into the till, gesturing to the EFTPOS machine. ‘You’re good to go.’

Johnny tapped his card. ‘This is all very mysterious, I must say.’

Laughing, Mark started steaming the milk. ‘You’re in for a ride at Valentine. They’re lovely people, but I think they’re a little bit… eccentric. Artsy types tend to be, you know?’

'I disagree that it’s only the artsy types,’ Johnny leaned against the counter, ‘I think we’re all just a little bit insane at the best of times. Human nature to be.’

The corners of Mark’s mouth turned up and he let out a short laugh. ‘Oh boy Doyoung hyung is going to love this.’

‘You know Kim Doyoung?’ Johnny asked. Any amount of information on this author who could become his mentor was worth finding out.

Mark froze. ‘Uh, oops? I wasn’t supposed to let that slip,’ he said, popping the lid onto Johnny’s coffee. ‘Look, I think you’re just best to find out what Doyoung hyung is like by yourself. Either way, it’s good to meet another Korean. I think we’re starting to collect them in this small pocket of town’.

Johnny raised his takeaway cup. ‘Cheers to that, can’t have too many friends that remind you of the motherland, hey?’

Mark smiled widely (a common theme in the young kid, Johnny was starting to notice). ‘Absolutely! See you around, Johnny Suh.’

As Johnny walked out of the café, giving Mark a short wave, he wondered what he was getting into. Kim Doyoung had been fairly easy to find online – as was his rags to riches story that had dominated small news headlines for a few months back in 2016. Started off as a blogger in secondary school writing about identity politics and philosophical musings, dropped out after one year of a university writing degree and spent months working in hospitality roles in odd hours, all the while writing drafts of what would become a ground breaking novel about the experience of being queer and Asian in a country that didn’t respect either.

 _Without You_ had become a best seller over time, initially gaining critical acclaim but not much mainstream popularity. With a few interviews and celebrity recommendations though, the novel had gained traction and had sold out rapidly. Johnny could see his own story sort of reflected in Doyoung’s journey, but he had been a lot more privileged in his success, with the safety net of a well paid and stable job, as well as a supportive network that had encouraged his exploration of poetry. It was admirable how Doyoung had managed to achieve so much with so little, and he felt a little humbled at the prospect of meeting the man. The first meeting was going to be critical for good first impressions, and to impressing someone who he might be working with in a professional capacity for a long time.

Johnny’s feet had led him to the door of _Valentine Publishing_ , and he nervously adjusted his coat collar, putting on a smile he hoped would impress, and pushed open the door.


End file.
